Dear guests… and for some, dear friends,
Today, I am sharing with you a point concerning the situation of the Ponant fleet.
Last Sunday, L’Austral, Le Boréal and Le Lyrial passed through the Strait of Gibraltar while sailing together. They had the immense pleasure of discovering at their side the latest addition to our fleet, Le Commandant-Charcot, which joined them on her way to Norway. Thus escorted by three sisterships, our polar exploration vessel was looking good.
This encounter in the Atlantic took place after L’Austral and Le Boréal left Rio de Janeiro on March 24 and 29, respectively, and Le Lyrial left Cape Town on March 18. All three were headed for Marseilles, where they will arrive shortly. Le Commandant-Charcot had left the Vard shipyard in Tulcea Romania on March 19 to join Søvik in Norway. The encounter on the high seas initially took place under foggy skies. Then, as the cameras and drones of the Studio Ponant teams were all ready to immortalize the moment, the sun finally came out to light up the shots.
Ponant’s fleet is setting up in anticipation of the resumption of our activities although we have little visibility on this prospect for the moment.
Le Lapérouse has reached New Caledonia, while Le Champlain and Le Dumont-d’Urville left Fort-de-France on April 9th for Europe. The Paul Gauguin and Le Soléal remain at anchor in Papeete, while Le Bougainville is positioned in Mahé in the Seychelles.
We will be ready when the time comes to resume our operations. For now, we must all be patient.
To conclude, I would like to take this opportunity to wish that each of you, your families and loved ones come through this epidemic in the best possible health.
Thank you all again for your commitmentment and the support you have shown us.
Very sincerely,
Jean Emmanuel Sauvée
